Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education vs Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: Salary, Job Outlook & Education | Career Matchup
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Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education vs Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Compare the evidence side by side. Career Matchup shows the source data without declaring an overall winner.

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01 · Compensation

Pay and employment

Median annual wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$38,140
53% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

Mean annual wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$43,030
56% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$76,320
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

Hourly median wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$18.34
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationNot published by BLS

BLS publishes annual wages only for this occupation; hourly estimates are not published.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

Hourly mean wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$20.69
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationNot published by BLS

BLS publishes annual wages only for this occupation; hourly estimates are not published.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

10th percentile annual wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$28,990
59% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$48,780
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

25th percentile annual wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$34,530
58% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$59,980
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

75th percentile annual wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$47,550
51% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$92,570
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

90th percentile annual wage

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$61,390
57% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$107,600
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

National employment

2025

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education478,780
45% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education1,065,210
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 25-2031

02 · Outlook

Employment outlook

Bars compare the same metric across the two careers. They are not an overall score.

Projected employment change

2025-2035

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education4.5%
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education-0.2%
6% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2031

Average annual openings

2025-2035

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education66.7k
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education63.5k
95% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2031

03 · Preparation

Education and training

Typical entry-level education

2025-2035

Preschool Teachers, Except Special EducationAssociate's degree

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationBachelor's degree

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2031

Related work experience

2025-2035

Preschool Teachers, Except Special EducationNot available

Value missing or suppressed in source.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationNot available

Value missing or suppressed in source.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2031

On-the-job training

2025-2035

Preschool Teachers, Except Special EducationNot available

Value missing or suppressed in source.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2011

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationNot available

Value missing or suppressed in source.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 25-2031

04 · Context and fit

Work context

Only compatible O*NET scales are compared together. Relative bars preserve the source scale interpretation.

Contact with others

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education4.8 raw · CX scale
95% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4.8 raw · CX scale
95% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Time pressure

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.1 raw · CX scale
52% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education3.3 raw · CX scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Spend time standing

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.6 raw · CX scale
66% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education3.3 raw · CX scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Exposed to contaminants

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education1.6 raw · CX scale
14% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education1.8 raw · CX scale
20% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Exposed to disease or infections

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.1 raw · CX scale
52% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education2.5 raw · CX scale
37% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Exposed to hazardous equipment

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education1 raw · CX scale
0% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education1.4 raw · CX scale
9% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

04 · Context and fit

Skills

Only compatible O*NET scales are compared together. Relative bars preserve the source scale interpretation.

Learning strategies

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education4 raw · LV scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4.3 raw · LV scale
61% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Monitoring

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.5 raw · LV scale
50% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4 raw · LV scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Reading comprehension

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.3 raw · LV scale
46% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4 raw · LV scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Active listening

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.1 raw · LV scale
45% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4 raw · LV scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Critical thinking

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.1 raw · LV scale
45% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4 raw · LV scale
57% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Speaking

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3.1 raw · LV scale
45% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education4.1 raw · LV scale
59% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Active learning

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3 raw · LV scale
43% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education3.9 raw · LV scale
55% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Writing

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education3 raw · LV scale
43% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education3.8 raw · LV scale
54% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

04 · Context and fit

Work styles

Only compatible O*NET scales are compared together. Relative bars preserve the source scale interpretation.

Dependability

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education2.7 raw · WI scale
94% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education2.7 raw · WI scale
94% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Attention to detail

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education1.5 raw · WI scale
75% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education1.8 raw · WI scale
79% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Stress tolerance

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education1.9 raw · WI scale
82% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education2.1 raw · WI scale
84% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Cooperation

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education2.8 raw · WI scale
97% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2011.00

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education2.3 raw · WI scale
88% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 25-2031.00

Explore your next step

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

Read the full profile, preparation, skills and source details.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Read the full profile, preparation, skills and source details.

  • Use the career comparison checklist

Sources

Each side retains the source release, reference period, occupation code, and file hash used for the comparison.

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release May 2025 · Reference 2025

Occupation code 25-2011 · SHA-256 b5855a37f3e03e779f6fbf173d3bbc94aeeff33426aef32fa95ce6d025bab1af

Employment Projections

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release 2025-2035 · Reference 2025-2035

Occupation code 25-2011 · SHA-256 a7d060f0576f7d4f5b829b9a0bb4a6c11a12766d159ebb0e07aab5bd2e7583c5

O*NET Database

Source-backed

O*NET Resource Center

Release 31.0 · Reference August 2026

Occupation code 25-2011.00 · SHA-256 c63ad00a8e45f3d3ef8e1529fcf8864d2279f2dfcb98737436818f5664781b04

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release May 2025 · Reference 2025

Occupation code 25-2031 · SHA-256 b5855a37f3e03e779f6fbf173d3bbc94aeeff33426aef32fa95ce6d025bab1af

Employment Projections

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release 2025-2035 · Reference 2025-2035

Occupation code 25-2031 · SHA-256 a7d060f0576f7d4f5b829b9a0bb4a6c11a12766d159ebb0e07aab5bd2e7583c5

O*NET Database

Source-backed

O*NET Resource Center

Release 31.0 · Reference August 2026

Occupation code 25-2031.00 · SHA-256 c63ad00a8e45f3d3ef8e1529fcf8864d2279f2dfcb98737436818f5664781b04

Read the data in context

Career Matchup does not declare an overall winner. National estimates can hide local variation, and O*NET relative values describe the named construct rather than whether a career is better.

Career Matchup is an independent comparison tool.

Data sourcesData availabilityAboutFree guideContactPrivacyTermsData: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET® Database.